Celebrate With Us, 125 Years and Counting

December 2014 – May 2015
The Historical Society’s new exhibit, As We Were, features the fashions of our founding year, 1889. The exhibit connects two historical events, the first meeting to found the Historical Society, and the wedding of two prominent founders, Edna Hoyt Rogers and Henry Benjamin Rogers. Don’t miss this unique display of the fashions of our history.

Some Historical Facts

The New Canaan Playhouse opened on Sept. 19, 1923 with a showing of “Down to the Sea in Ships”

The town’s first fire engine was paid for on July 4, 1845 in which a volunteer fire company was organized

The dedication of the town’s first high school took place on July 4, 1926

New Canaan’s first retail shoe store was built in 1870 at the corner of Elm, J. & J. Benedict

A Century Ago…

The 1910 census showed that New Canaan’s population had risen to 3,667 residents. The town reported an assessment of 945 houses (up 53 from the year before) with a value of $2,859,560. New Canaan received the generous donation of a large parcel of land from the widow of Benjamin P. Mead, thus paving the way for the creation of Mead Park in the coming years. Construction was also underway for the town’s first library, architected by a local resident.